The present invention relates to a dispenser which displays merchandise for sale and also holds a quantity of the displayed merchandise to be dispensed. More specifically, the present invention relates to a dispenser which may be used to display several packages of merchandise such as cigarette packages, the removal of one of the displayed packages resulting in its replacement by another package previously stored within the dispenser.
A variety of dispensers and similar structures for displaying and dispensing items of merchandise such as packages of cigarettes are known. Some such dispensers have structures which require that they be manufactured and assembled in advance, so that they cannot be shipped as an assembly to be put together by the ultimate retail merchant or by an intermediate wholesaler. An example of such a dispenser is the dispenser disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,148,413, which is thermally folded into its desired configuration. Another dispenser with a relatively complex construction from modular parts is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,858,757. U.S. Pat. No. 3,957,174 disclosed injection molded one- and two-piece constructions which may be mass-produced in advance of use.
Other dispensers are made of a paperboard or other similar material and may be provided for assembly at the point of use in the form of a foldable blank. Although readily shipped and assembled at the point of use, these dispensers are susceptible to damage because they are made from paperboard. For example, the support structure may become weakened through lengthy use and may, as a result, break, resulting in the accidental release of the merchandise. Furthermore, the repeated withdrawal of packages from the dispenser will inevitably cause wear on the paper, making it less attractive. The repeated handling of the dispenser by salespeople will cause it to become dirty and less attractive, but because of the paperboard construction, the dispenser cannot be easily cleaned and returned to its original condition. Therefore, a dispenser of this type is typically filled only once, and is discarded when the initial merchandise is exhausted. As a result, the merchandise may not be displayed again until a new dispenser is obtained, or the discarded dispenser may be replaced by a dispenser containing competing merchandise, in which case a new dispenser with the original merchandise may not be placed on display again in the same space. A valuable location may thus be lost to a competing product.
It would be advantageous to have a more durable dispenser for displaying and dispensing items of merchandise stored in columns which could be easily assembled at the point of use and which could be returned to its original condition after a period of use without being removed and replaced. Furthermore, it would be advantageous to have such a dispenser on which a display on the outside of the dispenser could be replaced by a new display when desired.